Florida homeowners News

Starting July 1, Florida Insurers Face New Guardrails on Force-Placed Insurance

Starting Saturday, insurers and mortgage lenders for Florida homeowners will face some new restrictions on lender-placed insurance policies, thanks to a bill approved by state lawmakers this year. House Bill 793 takes effect July 1 and it bars what some …

Security First to Offer New Homeowners Coverage in Florida

Security First Insurance, one of the largest private homeowners insurers, has launched its Homeowner’s Premier HO5 policy. Floridians must have no claims or one claim caused by a weather event and with good-to-excellent credit could quality for a 20% premium …

Florida Foreclosure Filings Spiked in July

After almost a year of month-to-month declines, new foreclosure starts in Florida rose in July. The research firm Realty Trac reported last week that foreclosure starts increased 16 percent in July from the previous July. Florida had the nation’s highest …

Census Data Breaks Down Florida Metro Area Housing Traits

New data released by federal authorities show the housing characteristics of Florida’s four major metro areas – Jacksonville, South Florida, Orlando and Tampa. According to the report, Jacksonville residents are more likely to have fireplaces in their homes than in …

Florida Homeownership Suffered Steep Decline in Last Decade

Florida had one of the largest declines in homeownership in the nation during the past decade, according to new figures released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau. The homeownership rate in Florida went from more than 73 percent at …

Florida’s Edison Insurance Reborn with New Management

Florida homeowners’ insurers Edison Insurance Co. is being relaunched with new management and coverage options almost five years after its business was taken over by another insurer. The company said it plans to begin offering homeowners’ and condominium unit owner …

Florida Frets That With Proposed Rate Cut, Citizens Could Be Too Competitive

Florida’s state-backed property insurer’s proposed rate reduction is raising questions about whether it will make the insurer competitive with the private market. Citizens Property Insurance Corp. recently proposed 2015 rates that include a statewide average 2.9 percent rate decrease on …

Security First to Offer Ironshore’s Primary Flood for High-Value Properties in Florida

Security First Managers, LLC, a Florida-based managing general agent for high value homeowners programs, is expanding the flood coverage it offers utilizing Ironshore insurance capacity. Security First Managers can now offer primary flood insurance of $500,000 to its customers, in …

Florida Homeowners to Share $55 Million in Chinese Drywall Settlement

Hundreds of Florida homeowners suffering with tainted Chinese drywall will share $55 million in a deal that also accuses a global drywall maker of lying about the product’s safety, according to court documents. The settlement will be funded by Banner …

CEO of Florida’s Homeowners Choice Resigns for Personal Reasons

Homeowners Choice Inc., a Clearwater, Florida-based provider of homeowners’ insurance, reported that Francis X. McCahill III has resigned from his position of president and chief executive officer and director of the company and its subsidiaries, effective date of June 30, …